Transport Committee on April 25th, 2022

[Xavier Barsalou-Duval, Bloc, Pierre-Boucher—Les Patriotes—Verchères, QC]

As vice-president, I imagine that you are aware of most of the important decisions that are made in the company. Have you ever heard about the complaints from the Teamsters union? Have you ever had internal discussions about improvements that should be made regarding the use of French in the company?

[Sébastien Labbé]

No, not on my end. I deal more with the trade aspect. That means I am a little less involved in human resources or relations with the various unions.

[Xavier Barsalou-Duval, Bloc, Pierre-Boucher—Les Patriotes—Verchères, QC]

So, this is not a subject that is discussed by CN's vice-presidents.

[Sébastien Labbé]

No, not on my end.

[Xavier Barsalou-Duval, Bloc, Pierre-Boucher—Les Patriotes—Verchères, QC]

On your end, you don't think that CN needs to improve when it comes to using French.

[Sébastien Labbé]

That's not what I'm saying. It is always possible to improve the processes of every company, whether in the area of communications or the languages used. There is always room for improvement, no doubt about it.

[Xavier Barsalou-Duval, Bloc, Pierre-Boucher—Les Patriotes—Verchères, QC]

When the CN control centre in Montreal was closed and moved to Edmonton, many employees were concerned that there would be problems with service in French, specifically in security matters. Do you share these concerns? Have you been able to easily find bilingual people to fill those positions?

[Sébastien Labbé]

To my knowledge, no such situation has been reported by employees or clients. I see what is written in the media, but nothing has been reported to me about it and I work with clients every day.

[Xavier Barsalou-Duval, Bloc, Pierre-Boucher—Les Patriotes—Verchères, QC]

Do you think that security and the supply chain could be at risk if there are not enough staff able to work in French?

[Sébastien Labbé]

I think we will always have enough staff who can work in French.

[Xavier Barsalou-Duval, Bloc, Pierre-Boucher—Les Patriotes—Verchères, QC]

That's not what the union people are saying. In fact, they're saying that the people who should be working in French are not able to do so. You're telling me that that this is not what you're seeing. So you think the union is wrong.

[Sébastien Labbé]

I can't comment on what the union people think. I don't have all the information they have access to.

[Xavier Barsalou-Duval, Bloc, Pierre-Boucher—Les Patriotes—Verchères, QC]

Okay.

In other words, you don't know what more will be done to improve the situation when it comes to French at CN. Personally, I get the feeling we're not on the same planet; you don't have any issues yourself and don't see anything wrong, whereas on our end, we're seeing red flags.

I wonder if measures will be implemented and if the situation is being taken seriously.

[Sébastien Labbé]

I'm confident that the situation is being taken seriously.

I'm not directly involved in the next steps and measures to be implemented, aside from having presented the facts to the board of directors, including Mr. Finn's comments.

[The Chair, Liberal, Peter Schiefke]

Thank you very much, Mr. Labbé and Mr. Barsalou-Duval.

Mr. Bachrach, the floor is now yours. You have six minutes.

[Taylor Bachrach, NDP, Skeena—Bulkley Valley, BC]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you to all of our witnesses today.

Mr. Labbé, I'd like to pick up where Mr. Barsalou-Duval left off. Am I to understand, if I followed the discussion properly, that currently there are no francophones on CN's board?

[Sébastien Labbé]

Currently, that is the case. Yes.

[Taylor Bachrach, NDP, Skeena—Bulkley Valley, BC]

What message do you think that sends to the francophones who work for your company here in Canada?

[Sébastien Labbé]

Well, as I said, it was recognized with the departure of Mr. Charest. Mr. Finn acknowledged that this will be corrected within the year.

[Taylor Bachrach, NDP, Skeena—Bulkley Valley, BC]

By the end of the year?

[Sébastien Labbé]

No. It will be in the current year, a few months following a couple of departures from the board.

[Taylor Bachrach, NDP, Skeena—Bulkley Valley, BC]

Okay.

What does “corrected” look like to CN?

[Sébastien Labbé]

Oh, I cannot answer that [Inaudible—Editor].

[Taylor Bachrach, NDP, Skeena—Bulkley Valley, BC]

What's your personal opinion on the number of francophones that would be appropriate on the board to reflect the place of the French language in Canadian society?

[Sébastien Labbé]

I think we would have to look at the various factors for representation on the board. French would be one of them. But you could look at all the types of diversity that we'd be considering, whether it's a geographic or thought or language.